Search results for: Fuzzy rule based system (FRBS)

Authors: Asım Egitmen, Aysen Demir, Burcu Darendeli, Fatma Ulusal, Bilgehan Güzel

Abstract:

Synthesizing supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) soluble precursors would be helpful for many processes of material syntheses based on scCO₂. Ligand (amphi-(1Z, 2Z)-N-(2-fluoro-3-(trifluoromethyl) phenyl)-N'-hydroxy-2-(hydroxyimino) were synthesized from chloro glyoxime and flourus aniline and Pd(II) complex (precursor) prepared. For scCO₂ deposition method, organometallic precursor was dissolved in scCO₂ and impregnated onto the SBA-15 at 90 °C and 3000 psi. Then the organometallic precursor was reduced with H₂ in the CO₂ mixture (150 psi H₂ + 2850 psi CO₂). Pd deposited support material was characterized by ICP-OES, XRD, FE-SEM, TEM and EDX analyses. The Pd loading of the prepared catalyst, measured by ICP-OES showed a value of about 1.64% mol/g Pd of catalyst. Average particle size was found 5.3 nm. The catalytic activity of prepared catalyst was investigated over Suzuki-Miyaura C-C coupling reaction in different solvent with K₂CO₃ at 50 ^oC. The conversion ratio was determined by gas chromatography.

Keywords: Nanoparticle, nanotube, oximes, precursor, supercritical CO2.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1173

Authors: Helena Kovačič, Andrej Rus

Abstract:

The authors of this paper compared ratings for leadership competences of managers in the healthcare sector and professional managers in Slovenia. Managers’ competence scores were analyzed for Slovenia and compared with some other EU countries. Comparisons of correlations yielded significant differences in leader/non-leader healthcare professionals in their relational competences. Cross-cultural comparisons also point to these differences in many countries included in the survey. Comparing these managers with the professional managers, one of the relational competences significantly distinguishes the two groups, namely the competence of taking initiative in establishing contacts with experts outside the organization. What is surprising from our analysis is the high number of competences that significantly differentiate leaders in healthcare from professional managers. Empirically based assessment provided a robust method for assessing and comparing leadership competences and point out significant results for leadership development.

Keywords: Leadership, competences, healthcare.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1680

Authors: Stephan Printz, Kristina Lahl, René Vossen, Sabina Jeschke

Abstract:

Strategic investment decisions are characterized by high innovation potential and long-term effects on the competitiveness of enterprises. Due to the uncertainty and risks involved in this complex decision making process, the need arises for well-structured support activities. A method that considers cost and the long-term added value is the cost-benefit effectiveness estimation. One of those methods is the “profitability estimation focused on benefits – PEFB”-method developed at the Institute of Management Cybernetics at RWTH Aachen University. The method copes with the challenges associated with strategic investment decisions by integrating long-term non-monetary aspects whilst also mapping the chronological sequence of an investment within the organization’s target system. Thus, this method is characterized as a holistic approach for the evaluation of costs and benefits of an investment. This participation-oriented method was applied to business environments in many workshops. The results of the workshops are a library of more than 96 cost aspects, as well as 122 benefit aspects. These aspects are preprocessed and comparatively analyzed with regards to their alignment to a series of risk levels. For the first time, an accumulation and a distribution of cost and benefit aspects regarding their impact and probability of occurrence are given. The results give evidence that the PEFB-method combines precise measures of financial accounting with the incorporation of benefits. Finally, the results constitute the basics for using information technology and data science for decision support when applying within the PEFB-method.

Keywords: Cost-benefit analysis, multi-criteria decision, profitability estimation focused on benefits, risk and uncertainty analysis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1476

Authors: Zahra Yazdani Paraii, Zohreh Yazdani Paraei

Abstract:

Many urban designers and planners have been involved in the design of environmentally friendly or nature adaptable urban development models due to increase in urban populations in the recent century, limitation on natural resources, climate change, and lack of enough water and food. Ecological city is one of the latest models proposed to accomplish the latter goal. In this work, the existing establishing indicators of the ecological city are used regarding energy, water, land use and transportation issues. The model is used to compare the function of traditional settlements of Iran. The result of investigation shows that the specifications and functions of the traditional settlements of Iran fit well into the ecological city model. It is found that the inhabitants of the old cities and villages in Iran had founded ecological cities based on their knowledge of the environment and its natural opportunities and limitations.

Keywords: Ecological city, traditional city, urban design, environment.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1230

Authors: B.R. Singh, O. Singh

Abstract:

Worldwide conventional resources of fossil fuel are depleting very fast due to large scale increase in use of transport vehicles every year, therefore consumption rate of oil in transport sector alone has gone very high. In view of this, the major thrust has now been laid upon the search of alternative energy source and also for cost effective energy conversion system. The air converted into compressed form by non conventional or conventional methods can be utilized as potential working fluid for producing shaft work in the air turbine and thus offering the capability of being a zero pollution energy source. This paper deals with the mathematical modeling and performance evaluation of a small capacity compressed air driven vaned type novel air turbine. Effect of expansion action and steady flow work in the air turbine at high admission air pressure of 6 bar, for varying injection to vane angles ratios 0.2-1.6, at the interval of 0.2 and at different vane angles such as 30o, 45o, 51.4o, 60o, 72o, 90o, and 120o for 12, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 and 3 vanes respectively at speed of rotation 2500 rpm, has been quantified and analyzed here. Study shows that the expansion power has major contribution to total power, whereas the contribution of flow work output has been found varying only up to 19.4%. It is also concluded that for variation of injection to vane angle ratios from 0.2 to 1.2, the optimal power output is seen at vane angle 90o (4 vanes) and for 1.4 to 1.6 ratios, the optimal total power is observed at vane angle 72o (5 vanes). Thus in the vaned type novel air turbine the optimum shaft power output is developed when rotor contains 4-5 vanes for almost all situations of injection to vane angle ratios from 0.2 to 1.6.

Keywords: zero pollution, compressed air, air turbine, vaneangle, injection to vane angle ratios

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1694

Authors: J. C. Moctezuma, V. Breña-Medina, Jose Luis Nunez-Yanez, Joseph P. McGeehan

Abstract:

In this work we make a bifurcation analysis for a single compartment representation of Traub model, one of the most important conductance-based models. The analysis focus in two principal parameters: current and leakage conductance. Study of stable and unstable solutions are explored; also Hop-bifurcation and frequency interpretation when current varies is examined. This study allows having control of neuron dynamics and neuron response when these parameters change. Analysis like this is particularly important for several applications such as: tuning parameters in learning process, neuron excitability tests, measure bursting properties of the neuron, etc. Finally, a hardware implementation results were developed to corroborate these results.

Keywords: Traub model, Pinsky-Rinzel model, Hopf bifurcation, single-compartment models, Bifurcation analysis, neuron modeling.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1192

Authors: Yudhajit Datta, Jonathan Bandi, Ankit Sethia, Hamsi Iyer

Abstract:

Motion Tracking and Stereo Vision are complicated, albeit well-understood problems in computer vision. Existing softwares that combine the two approaches to perform stereo motion tracking typically employ complicated and computationally expensive procedures. The purpose of this study is to create a simple and effective solution capable of combining the two approaches. The study aims to explore a strategy to combine the two techniques of two-dimensional motion tracking using Kalman Filter; and depth detection of object using Stereo Vision. In conventional approaches objects in the scene of interest are observed using a single camera. However for Stereo Motion Tracking; the scene of interest is observed using video feeds from two calibrated cameras. Using two simultaneous measurements from the two cameras a calculation for the depth of the object from the plane containing the cameras is made. The approach attempts to capture the entire three-dimensional spatial information of each object at the scene and represent it through a software estimator object. In discrete intervals, the estimator tracks object motion in the plane parallel to plane containing cameras and updates the perpendicular distance value of the object from the plane containing the cameras as depth. The ability to efficiently track the motion of objects in three-dimensional space using a simplified approach could prove to be an indispensable tool in a variety of surveillance scenarios. The approach may find application from high security surveillance scenes such as premises of bank vaults, prisons or other detention facilities; to low cost applications in supermarkets and car parking lots.

Keywords: Kalman Filter, Stereo Vision, Motion Tracking, Matlab, Object Tracking, Camera Calibration, Computer Vision System Toolbox.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2808

Authors: M. R. Ghasemi, A. Ehsani

Abstract:

In this paper, the optimum weight and cost of a laminated composite plate is seeked, while it undergoes the heaviest load prior to a complete failure. Various failure criteria are defined for such structures in the literature. In this work, the Tsai-Hill theory is used as the failure criterion. The theory of analysis was based on the Classical Lamination Theory (CLT). A newly type of Genetic Algorithm (GA) as an optimization technique with a direct use of real variables was employed. Yet, since the optimization via GAs is a long process, and the major time is consumed through the analysis, Radial Basis Function Neural Networks (RBFNN) was employed in predicting the output from the analysis. Thus, the process of optimization will be carried out through a hybrid neuro-GA environment, and the procedure will be carried out until a predicted optimum solution is achieved.

Keywords: Composite Laminates, GA, Multi-objectiveOptimisation, Neural Networks, RBFNN.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1612

Authors: Abolhassan Razminia, Mohammad-Ali Sadrnia

Abstract:

Chua’s circuit is one of the most important electronic devices that are used for Chaos and Bifurcation studies. A central role of secure communication is devoted to it. Since the adaptive control is used vastly in the linear systems control, here we introduce a new trend of application of adaptive method in the chaos controlling field. In this paper, we try to derive a new adaptive control scheme for Chua’s circuit controlling because control of chaos is often very important in practical operations. The novelty of this approach is for sake of its robustness against the external perturbations which is simulated as an additive noise in all measured states and can be generalized to other chaotic systems. Our approach is based on Lyapunov analysis and the adaptation law is considered for the feedback gain. Because of this, we have named it NAFT (Nonlinear Adaptive Feedback Technique). At last, simulations show the capability of the presented technique for Chua’s circuit.

Keywords: Chaos, adaptive control, nonlinear control, Chua's circuit.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2044

Authors: S. Bouhouche, M. Lahreche, S. Ziani, J. Bast

Abstract:

Modern manufacturing facilities are large scale, highly complex, and operate with large number of variables under closed loop control. Early and accurate fault detection and diagnosis for these plants can minimise down time, increase the safety of plant operations, and reduce manufacturing costs. Fault detection and isolation is more complex particularly in the case of the faulty analog control systems. Analog control systems are not equipped with monitoring function where the process parameters are continually visualised. In this situation, It is very difficult to find the relationship between the fault importance and its consequences on the product failure. We consider in this paper an approach to fault detection and analysis of its effect on the production quality using an adaptive centring and scaling in the pickling process in cold rolling. The fault appeared on one of the power unit driving a rotary machine, this machine can not track a reference speed given by another machine. The length of metal loop is then in continuous oscillation, this affects the product quality. Using a computerised data acquisition system, the main machine parameters have been monitored. The fault has been detected and isolated on basis of analysis of monitored data. Normal and faulty situation have been obtained by an artificial neural network (ANN) model which is implemented to simulate the normal and faulty status of rotary machine. Correlation between the product quality defined by an index and the residual is used to quality classification.

Keywords: Modeling, fault detection and diagnosis, parameters estimation, neural networks, Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD), pickling process.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1558

Authors: Masoume Pourmohamadreza-Tajrishi, Parviz Azadfallah

Abstract:

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) involve myriad aberrant perceptual, cognitive, linguistic, and social behaviors. The term spectrum emphasizes that the disabilities associated with ASD fall on a continuum from relatively mild to severe. People with ASD may display stereotyped behaviors such as twirling, spinning objects, flapping the hands, and rocking. The individuals with ASD exhibit communication problems due to repetitive/restricted behaviors. Children with ASD who lack the motivation to learn, who do not enjoy physical challenges, or whose sensory perception results in confusing or unpleasant feedback from movement may not become sufficiently motivated to practice motor activities. As a result, they may show both a delay in developing certain motor skills. Additionally, attention is an important component of learning. As far as children with ASD have problems in joint attention, many education-based programs are needed to consider some aspects of attention and motor activities development for students with ASD. These programs focus on the basic movement skills that are crucial for the future development of the more complex skills needed in games, dance, sports, gymnastics, active play, and recreational physical activities. The purpose of the present research was to determine the effectiveness of therapeutic exercise on motor skills and attention of male students with ASD. This was an experimental study with a control group. The population consisted of 8-10 year-old male students with ASD and 30 subjects were selected randomly from an available center suitable for the children with ASD. They were evaluated by the Basic Motor Ability Test (BMAT) and Persian version of computerized Stroop color-word test and randomly assigned to an experimental and control group (15 students in per group). The experimental group participated in 16 therapeutic exercise sessions and received therapeutic exercise program (twice a week; each lasting for 45 minutes) designed based on the Spark motor program while the control group did not. All subjects were evaluated by BMAT and Stroop color-word test after the last session again. The collected data were analyzed by using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The results of MANCOVA showed that experimental and control groups had a significant difference in motor skills and at least one of the components of attention (correct responses, incorrect responses, no responses, the reaction time of congruent words and reaction time of incongruent words in the Stroop test). The findings showed that the therapeutic exercise had a significant effect on motor skills and all components of attention in students with ASD. We can conclude that the therapeutic exercise led to promote the motor skills and attention of students with ASD, so it is necessary to design or plan such programs for ASD students to prevent their communication or academic problems.

Keywords: Attention, autism spectrum disorder, motor skills, therapeutic exercise.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 860

Authors: Abdulrahim Shamayleh, John Fowler, Muhong Zhang

Abstract:

Operating rooms are important assets for hospitals as they generate the largest revenue and, at the same time, produce the largest cost for hospitals. The model presented in this paper helps make capacity planning decisions on the combination of open operating rooms (ORs) and estimated overtime to satisfy the allocated OR time to each specialty. The model combines both decisions on determining the amount of OR time to open and to allocate to different surgical specialties. The decisions made are based on OR costs, overutilization and underutilization costs, and contribution margins from allocating OR time. The results show the importance of having a good estimate of specialty usage of OR time to determine the amount of needed capacity and highlighted the tradeoff that the OR manager faces between opening more ORs versus extending the working time of the ORs already in use.

Keywords: capacity planning, contribution margins, operating room, overutilization

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2703

Authors: F. Saptouw

Abstract:

This paper briefly reviews the range of curatorial interventions made to preserve and display the Timbuktu Manuscripts. The government of South Africa and Mali collaborated to preserve the manuscripts, and brief notes will be presented about the value of archives in those specific spaces. The research initiatives of the Tombouctou Manuscripts Project, based at the University of Cape Town, feature prominently in the text. A brief overview of the history of the archive will be presented and its preservation as a key turning point in curating the intellectual history of the continent. ­­­The strategies of preservation, curation, publication and digitization are presented as complimentary interventions. Each materialization of the manuscripts contributes something significant; the complexity of the contribution is dependent primarily on the format of presentation. This integrated reading of the manuscripts is presented as a means to gain a more nuanced understanding of the past, which greatly surpasses how much information would be gleaned from relying on a single media format.

Keywords: Archive, curatorship, cultural heritage, museum practice, Timbuktu manuscripts.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 625

Authors: M. Hassan, I. Osman, M. Yahia

Abstract:

This Paper proposes a new facial feature extraction approach, Wash-Hadamard Transform (WHT). This approach is based on correlation between local pixels of the face image. Its primary advantage is the simplicity of its computation. The paper compares the proposed approach, WHT, which was traditionally used in data compression with two other known approaches: the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) using the face database of Olivetti Research Laboratory (ORL). In spite of its simple computation, the proposed algorithm (WHT) gave very close results to those obtained by the PCA and DCT. This paper initiates the research into WHT and the family of frequency transforms and examines their suitability for feature extraction in face recognition applications.

Keywords: Face Recognition, Facial Feature Extraction, Principal Component Analysis, and Discrete Cosine Transform, Wash-Hadamard Transform.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2550

Authors: Abhishek Swaroop, Awadhesh Kumar Singh

Abstract:

The group mutual exclusion (GME) problem is an interesting generalization of the mutual exclusion problem. Several solutions of the GME problem have been proposed for message passing distributed systems. However, none of these solutions is suitable for real time distributed systems. In this paper, we propose a token-based distributed algorithms for the GME problem in soft real time distributed systems. The algorithm uses the concepts of priority queue, dynamic request set and the process state. The algorithm uses first come first serve approach in selecting the next session type between the same priority levels and satisfies the concurrent occupancy property. The algorithm allows all n processors to be inside their CS provided they request for the same session. The performance analysis and correctness proof of the algorithm has also been included in the paper.

Keywords: Concurrency, Group mutual exclusion, Priority, Request set, Token.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1691

Authors: Ayesha Sohail, Khadija Maqbool, Anila Asif, Haroon Ahmad

Abstract:

These days, the field of tissue engineering is getting serious attention due to its usefulness. Bone tissue engineering helps to address and sort-out the critical sized and non-healing orthopedic problems by the creation of manmade bone tissue. We will design and validate an efficient numerical model, which will simulate the effective diffusivity in bone tissue engineering. Our numerical model will be based on the finite element analysis of the diffusion-reaction equations. It will have the ability to optimize the diffusivity, even at multi-scale, with the variation of time. It will also have a special feature “parametric sweep”, with which we will be able to predict the oxygen, glucose and cell density dynamics, more accurately. We will fix these problems by modifying the governing equations, by selecting appropriate spatio-temporal finite element schemes and by transient analysis.

Keywords: Bone tissue engineering, Transient Analysis, Scaffolds, fabrication techniques.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2440

Authors: D. R. Ambika, K. R. Radhika, D. Seshachalam

Abstract:

Unconstrained authentication is an important component for personal automated systems and human-computer interfaces. Existing solutions mostly use face as the primary object of analysis. The performance of face-based systems is largely determined by the extent of deformation caused in the facial region and amount of useful information available in occluded face images. Periocular region is a useful portion of face with discriminative ability coupled with resistance to deformation. A reliable portion of periocular area is available for occluded images. The present work demonstrates that joint representation of periocular texture and periocular structure provides an effective expression and poses invariant representation. The proposed methodology provides an effective and compact description of periocular texture and shape. The method is tested over four benchmark datasets exhibiting varied acquisition conditions.

Keywords: Periocular authentication, Zernike moments, LBPV, shape and texture fusion.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 921

Authors: Guohua Cao, Xu Dong

Abstract:

X-ray Fluorescence Molecular Imaging (XFMI) holds great promise as a low-cost molecular imaging modality for biomedical applications with high chemical sensitivity. However, for in vivo biomedical applications, a key technical bottleneck is the relatively low chemical sensitivity of XFMI, especially at a reasonably low radiation dose. In laboratory x-ray source based XFMI, one of the main factors that limits the chemical sensitivity of XFMI is the scattered x-rays. We will present our latest findings on improving the chemical sensitivity of XFMI using excitation beam spectrum optimization. XFMI imaging experiments on two mouse-sized phantoms were conducted at three different excitation beam spectra. Our results show that the minimum detectable concentration (MDC) of iodine can be readily increased by five times via excitation spectrum optimization. Findings from this investigation could find use for in vivo pre-clinical small-animal XFMI in the future.

Keywords: Molecular imaging, X-ray fluorescence, chemical sensitivity, X-ray scattering.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 897

Authors: Patrick T. I. Lam, Wenjing Yang

Abstract:

A smart city project embraces benefits and costs which can be classified under direct and indirect categories. Externalities come into the picture, but they are often difficult to quantify. Despite this barrier, policy makers need to carry out cost-benefit analysis to justify the huge investments needed to make a city smart. The recent trend is towards the engagement of the private sector to utilize their resources and expertise, especially in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) areas, where innovations blossom. This study focuses on the identification of costs (on a life cycle basis) and benefits associated with smart city project developments based on a comprehensive literature review and case studies, where public-private partnerships would warrant consideration, the related costs and benefits are highlighted. The findings will be useful for policy makers of cities.

Keywords: Costs and benefits, identification, public-private partnerships, smart city projects.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1673

Authors: Paraskevi Theodorou, Apostolos Meliones

Abstract:

In the context of the development process of two assistive navigation mobile apps for blind and visually impaired people (BVI) an extensive qualitative analysis of the requirements of potential users has been conducted. The analysis was based on interviews with BVIs and aimed to elicit not only their needs with respect to autonomous navigation but also their preferences on specific features of the apps under development. The elicited requirements were structured into four main categories, namely, requirements concerning the capabilities, functionality and usability of the apps, as well as compatibility requirements with respect to other apps and services. The main categories were then further divided into nine sub-categories. This classification, along with its content, aims to become a useful tool for the researcher or the developer who is involved in the development of digital services for BVI.

Keywords: Accessibility, assistive mobile apps, blind and visually impaired people, user requirements analysis.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 909

Authors: Erika Martinez Ramirez, Rene V. Mayorga

Abstract:

The internet is constantly expanding. Identifying web links of interest from web browsers requires users to visit each of the links listed, individually until a satisfactory link is found, therefore those users need to evaluate a considerable amount of links before finding their link of interest; this can be tedious and even unproductive. By incorporating web assistance, web users could be benefited from reduced time searching on relevant websites. In this paper, a rough set approach is presented, which facilitates classification of unlimited available e-vocabulary, to assist web users in reducing search times looking for relevant web sites. This approach includes two methods for identifying relevance data on web links based on the priority and percentage of relevance. As a result of these methods, a list of web sites is generated in priority sequence with an emphasis of the search criteria.

Keywords: Web search, Web Mining, Rough Sets, Web Intelligence, Intelligent Portals, Relevance.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1538

Authors: B. Ratchaneepun, N.S. Bardell

Abstract:

It is recognized that people are the main drivers in almost all the processes that affect airworthiness assurance. This is especially true in the area of aircraft maintenance, which is an essential part of continuing airworthiness. This work investigates what impact English language proficiency, the intersection of the military and Thai cultures, and the lack of initial and continuing human factors training have on the work performance of maintenance personnel in the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF). A quantitative research method based on a cross-sectional survey was used to gather data about these three key aspects of “people” in a military airworthiness environment. 30 questions were developed addressing the crucial topics of English language proficiency, impact of culture, and human factors training. The officers and the non-commissioned officers (NCOs) who work for the Aeronautical Engineering Divisions in the RTAF comprised the survey participants. The survey data were analysed to support various hypotheses by using a t-test method. English competency in the RTAF is very important since all of the service manuals for Thai military aircraft are written in English. Without such competency, it is difficult for maintenance staff to perform tasks and correctly interpret the relevant maintenance manual instructions; any misunderstandings could lead to potential accidents. The survey results showed that the officers appreciated the importance of this more than the NCOs, who are the people actually doing the hands-on maintenance work. Military culture focuses on the success of a given mission, and leverages the power distance between the lower and higher ranks. In Thai society, a power distance also exists between younger and older citizens. In the RTAF, such a combination tends to inhibit a just reporting culture and hence hinders safety. The survey results confirmed this, showing that the older people and higher ranks involved with RTAF aircraft maintenance believe that the workplace has a positive safety culture and climate, whereas the younger people and lower ranks think the opposite. The final area of consideration concerned human factors training and non-technical skills training. The survey revealed that those participants who had previously attended such courses appreciated its value and were aware of its benefits in daily life. However, currently there is no regulation in the RTAF to mandate recurrent training to maintain such knowledge and skills. The findings from this work suggest that the people involved in assuring the continuing airworthiness of the RTAF would benefit from: (i) more rigorous requirements and standards in the recruitment, initial training and continuation training regarding English competence; (ii) the development of a strong safety culture that exploits the uniqueness of both the military culture and the Thai culture; and (iii) providing more initial and recurrent training in human factors and non-technical skills.

Keywords: Aircraft maintenance, continuing airworthiness, military culture, people, Royal Thai Air Force.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 619

Authors: Pavla Ruzickova, Petr Teply

Abstract:

There are many debates now regarding undervalued and overvalued currencies currently traded on the world financial market. This paper contributes to these debates from a theoretical point of view. We present the three most commonly used methods of estimating the equilibrium real effective exchange rate (REER): macroeconomic balance approach, external sustainability approach and equilibrium real effective exchange rate approach in the reduced form. Moreover, we discuss key concepts of the calculation of the real exchange rate (RER) based on applied explanatory variables: nominal exchange rates, terms of trade and tradable and non-tradable goods. Last but not least, we discuss the three main driving forces behind real exchange rates movements which include terms of trade, relative productivity growth and the interest rate differential.

Keywords: real exchange rate, real effective exchange rate, foreign exchange, terms of trade

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2466

Authors: Achraf El Allali, John R. Rose

Abstract:

A number of competing methodologies have been developed to identify genes and classify DNA sequences into coding and non-coding sequences. This classification process is fundamental in gene finding and gene annotation tools and is one of the most challenging tasks in bioinformatics and computational biology. An information theory measure based on mutual information has shown good accuracy in classifying DNA sequences into coding and noncoding. In this paper we describe a species independent iterative approach that distinguishes coding from non-coding sequences using the mutual information measure (MIM). A set of sixty prokaryotes is used to extract universal training data. To facilitate comparisons with the published results of other researchers, a test set of 51 bacterial and archaeal genomes was used to evaluate MIM. These results demonstrate that MIM produces superior results while remaining species independent.

Keywords: Coding Non-coding Classification, Entropy, GeneRecognition, Mutual Information.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1710

Authors: Jan Doutreloigne

Abstract:

The main goal of this paper is to develop a switching amplifier with optimized power efficiency for analog signals with a very high crest factor such as audio or DSL signals. Theoretical calculations show that a switching amplifier architecture based on multi-level pulse width modulation outperforms all other types of linear or switching amplifiers in that respect. Simulations on a 2 W multi-level switching audio amplifier, designed in a 50 V 0.35 mm IC technology, confirm its superior performance in terms of power efficiency. A real silicon implementation of this audio amplifier design is currently underway to provide experimental validation.

Keywords: Audio amplifier, multi-level switching amplifier, power efficiency, pulse width modulation, PWM, self-oscillating amplifier.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 838

Authors: Jayden Levy, Garth M. K. Pearce

Abstract:

An automated fibre placement method has been developed to build through-thickness reinforcement into carbon fibre reinforced plastic laminates during their production, with the goal of increasing delamination fracture toughness while circumventing the additional costs and defects imposed by post-layup stitching and z-pinning. Termed ‘inter-weaving’, the method uses custom placement sequences of thermoset prepreg tows to distribute regular fibre link regions in traditionally clean ply interfaces. Inter-weaving’s impact on mode I delamination fracture toughness was evaluated experimentally through double cantilever beam tests (ASTM standard D5528-13) on [±15°]9 laminates made from Park Electrochemical Corp. E-752-LT 1/4” carbon fibre prepreg tape. Unwoven and inter-woven automated fibre placement samples were compared to those of traditional laminates produced from standard uni-directional plies of the same material system. Unwoven automated fibre placement laminates were found to suffer a mostly constant 3.5% decrease in mode I delamination fracture toughness compared to flat uni-directional plies. Inter-weaving caused significant local fracture toughness increases (up to 50%), though these were offset by a matching overall reduction. These positive and negative behaviours of inter-woven laminates were respectively found to be caused by fibre breakage and matrix deformation at inter-weave sites, and the 3D layering of inter-woven ply interfaces providing numerous paths of least resistance for crack propagation.

Keywords: AFP, automated fibre placement, delamination, fracture toughness, inter-weaving.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 654

Authors: Martin Henkel

Abstract:

Different forms of interaction are an integral part of modern courses. Traditional courses held on-campus might focus on teacher-student interaction, or student-student interaction, or both. However when these traditional on-campus courses are to be held as distance courses there is a risk that these well-designed interactions will be difficult or impossible to uphold. For example, studentstudent interaction in traditional project assignments might not work well if the students are scattered across the world. Thus, even a welldesigned traditional on-site course cannot without modification be turned into a distance course. Traditional on-site courses simply have to be redesigned to become true distance courses. This paper describes a structured approach which facilitates the redesign of a traditional course into a distance course. The approach is based on that the desired forms of course flexibility are identified, and thereafter that the course activities are redesigned to facilitate interaction in a distance course. The approach is making use of known patterns of pedagogic interaction and existing guidelines for distance education design. The approach is illustrated with an example course in the field of information systems design.

Keywords: Distance education, interaction in education, course design.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1404

Authors: P. Lauk, K. E. Seegel, T. Tähemaa

Abstract:

The fuel consumption of modern, high wing loading, commercial aircraft in the first stage of flight is high because the usable flight level is lower and the weather conditions (jet stream) have great impact on aircraft performance. To reduce the fuel consumption, it is necessary to raise during first stage of flight the L/D ratio value within Cl 0.55-0.65. Different variable geometrical wing trailing edge modifications of SC(2)-410 airfoil were compared at M 0.78 using the CFD software STAR-CCM+ simulation based Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. The numerical results obtained show that by increasing the width of the airfoil by 4% and by modifying the trailing edge airfoil, it is possible to decrease airfoil drag at Cl 0.70 for up to 26.6% and at the same time to increase commercial aircraft L/D ratio for up to 5.0%. Fuel consumption can be reduced in proportion to the increase in L/D ratio.

Keywords: L/D ratio, miniflaps, mini-TED, supercritical airfoil.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 980

Authors: Wichai Onlaor, Siriluck Rotchanakitumnuai

Abstract:

The aim of this research is to develop the understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR) from consumers- perspective toward Thai mobile service providers. Based on the survey from 400 mobile customers, the result shows that four dimensions of CSR of Thai mobile service providers consist of economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibility. These four CSR factors have positive impacts on enhancing customer satisfaction except one item of economic responsibility - profitability to shareholders. Ethical dimension has the strongest impact on customer satisfaction. Economic, legal, ethical, philanthropic responsibility and customer satisfaction have major impact on loyalty, whilst philanthropic component mostly affects loyalty.

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, PriceFairness, Service Quality, Privacy Concern, CustomerSatisfaction, Customer Loyalty

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3388

Authors: Thomas Odaker, Dieter Kranzlmueller, Jens Volkert

Abstract:

We present an approach to triangle mesh simplification designed to be executed on the GPU. We use a quadric error metric to calculate an error value for each vertex of the mesh and order all vertices based on this value. This step is followed by the parallel removal of a number of vertices with the lowest calculated error values. To allow for the parallel removal of multiple vertices we use a set of per-vertex boundaries that prevent mesh foldovers even when simplification operations are performed on neighbouring vertices. We execute multiple iterations of the calculation of the vertex errors, ordering of the error values and removal of vertices until either a desired number of vertices remains in the mesh or a minimum error value is reached. This parallel approach is used to speed up the simplification process while maintaining mesh topology and avoiding foldovers at every step of the simplification.

Keywords: Computer graphics, half edge collapse, mesh simplification, precomputed simplification, topology preserving.

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2771